Half-blind fish?

[taxidermynerd]

Hi guys, I think one of my upside-down catfish is blind in one eye. He spends a lot of time laying out in the middle of the tank, unlike his fully-sighted buddy. And when I corraled him into my hand a little bit ago, one of his eyes looks clouded. I couldn't really get it on picture, so you'll just have to trust my word.

Anything I can do to help this little guy, make the tank more accessible for him? He still swims around fine and everything, he's just a bit different. He has plenty of spaces to hide, right now there are 13 hides plus some other spots to hide. Everyone pretty much will leave him alone, although sometimes a snail comes along and pushes their way past (as they tend to do), if he doesn't rocket off first. other than that he is happy and healthy.

Advice?

 

[Zara]

Have you taken him to the vet? Maybe they can confirm this and give you some tips on care.

 

[Rain Bow]

I say as long as he's not being picked on & isn't marring himself on rocks... Let him be happy

 

[fashionfobie]

I have a blind goldfish, named Marble. She was blind the whole time I have had her. She is missing one eye and her other eye is not functional.

She gets on very well around her environment. She is a bit stunted.I don't think she was really given an opportunity to thrive before. I have had her for about 2.5 years and she is about twice the size from when I got her. Though still a very small ranchu. Generally she follows the school and makes her way to food. Sometimes I do hand feed her, and I am always careful to observe her eating. Clearly she misses the food and sometimes if she tries again and again the others beat her to it. So in that case I hand feed. She has a very sweet innocence about her. She is always carefully swimming about. I don't have any sharp surfaces in case she bumps into things. One time she even got herself caught in the y-intersection of a decorative branch. So she does need a little extra tending too.



Fish can understand their surrounding pretty well without vision. So they do better than we do without it. Your catfish will have very sensitive barbels which should help him find food, probably even easier than my little Marble.

Fish also have lateral nerves that help them sense their environment and build a 3d understanding of their world. Maybe this graphic will help explain. Your little fish should be able to live a full life without vision, just make sure you check on him often and make sure he gets to food.

 

[SummerBerry]

I have a cory-catfish that is blind, I found out a couple of months ago when its swimming pattern changed drastically. Luckily because of my betta I already only have silk and live decor, if you have any sharp/ragged decorations remove them. Anyway, he gets around quite well and his little group of buddies don't treat him any differently. It sounds like your already doing great with the number of hiding places you have.

 

[taxidermynerd]

Unfortunately vets here don't really see fish, that isn't an option. I do have decorations that are kind of sharp, I will try to find some smoother ones for them.

 

[Galadriel]

I've had one for years that's blind in both eyes, and has several tumors. He's active and eats, so I don't worry about him much.